


All Your Life You'll Dream of This

by flickerthenflare



Series: All Your Life You'll Dream of This [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-21 01:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2449763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flickerthenflare/pseuds/flickerthenflare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt obsesses over the royal family. He reads every magazine and news article he can find and watches every documentary. He knows his crush on Prince Blaine won’t lead anywhere, or at least he convinces himself of the impossibility until Blaine’s coming out video goes viral.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Your Life You'll Dream of This

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Mirrors some of the bullying/homophobia seen in the second season of Glee, racism, and mentions of suicide among LGBT teens (not contemplated or attempted by any characters).

Kurt pulls out of his overnight bag yet another magazine with an article on the youngest prince. He can never resist buying them: he has more royal family magazines than fashion magazines at this point, neatly catalogued on his shelves along with the history books and documentaries about their lives. He finds the royal family endlessly fascinating and the stream of information, while often repetitive, is usually steady. An article he wants to read and a sleepover with friends is just the cure he needs for another exhausting week at the hellhole that is McKinley High School. And pizza will help too. He settles further onto Mercedes’ technicolor, zebra-striped bed that Kurt’s kind of in love with despite how little it matches his usual taste and fishes a slice out of the box.

Tina peeks over his shoulder in interest. The magazine is trashier than Kurt’s usual, with paparazzi pictures of the princes at the beach one last time before fall weather chases the skimpy clothes away paired with an article on how dreamy the youngest prince is turning out to be. Kurt starts to turn the page lest he linger too long on pictures of the princes in swimwear and Tina – usually so quiet and nice – slaps his hand away.

“Where do I get a copy?” She pets the page back down in apology for playing rough with the pictures she doesn’t take her eyes off of.

“If you drool any more, you’re giving me money and keeping this one.” He tries to sound less serious than he is. He can’t carefully catalogue a magazine with water stains.

Tina sticks out her tongue and for half a second Kurt thinks she’s going to lick his magazine to claim ownership.

Rachel waggles her own magazine at them. “Quiz time! Cosmopolitan would like to know _Are You Princess Material_?”

Tina perks up from her resting space against Kurt’s shoulder. “They have a quiz for that?”

Rachel skims the list of questions. “I think this quiz is more _Can You Behave in Public_.”

“Well we all know the answer to that,” Mercedes cracks. She wiggles her fingers at Kurt. He returns the silly gesture.

Tina settles back into Kurt. “I’m sure they have training for all that.”

“You’re probably right,” Mercedes agrees. “Given how protected the royal family is in their right to choose who they marry now, there’s bound to be variability in how well brought up their spouses will be. They’ll just have to keep their fingers crossed that they won’t end up with anyone too embarrassing.”

Kurt knows for certain that training in how to be a member of the royal family is real: his mother recorded a 60-minute news special filmed before he or any of his friends were born – when Cooper Anderson became Prince Cooper – that touched on the topic and Kurt still has the VHS tape. The Hummels have an ancient VHS player just so Kurt can watch old tapes on the royal family his mother left behind. While Prince Cooper, as a child at the time, seemed like a special case going through the process of becoming a well-behaved royal (and as a child it wasn’t so embarrassing to admit training was needed), there must be something similar for those who marry in.

He keeps his anecdote about Prince Cooper to himself. He seems obsessed enough over royalty without volunteering information based on a documentary older than any of them. His inclusion in Girls’ Night is already precarious, more so that even Rachel’s and they’re not even friends with her. Not really. Not yet.

“I think we should all be fully prepared for the possibility of becoming royalty,” Rachel says like she’s an authority on the subject. “It’s the responsible thing to do in order to not become a national embarrassment. I want to be my best self at all times, prince or no prince, but it seems others need more motivation to try.”

Tina mouths something that looks suspiciously like _reindeers sweaters_ with a tip of her head toward Rachel’s current ensemble. Kurt resists responding with _seafoam princess-waist nightgown from the 70s_ not out of kindness but because that mouthful is harder to lip-read. Between wanting to be loved but also wanting to keep everyone at a distance so it won’t hurt when she isn’t, she’s the representation of all his worst habits and Kurt’s torn between irritation and sympathy. He feels a twinge of guilt for making fun, even if he didn’t insult her aloud.

“Can’t you imagine it though?” Mercedes asks dreamily. “One day you’re a completely normal person and the next you’re royalty.”

Tina joins in their fantasy next. “Think of the responsibility! All that power.”

“Think of the _clothes_.” Kurt says.

Rachel’s eyes glaze over. “Instant access to acclaim. There’s no faster rise to stardom.”

Tina sighs as she fixates back on the magazine photo spread. “He has to be meant for someone, why can’t it be me? I have as much chance as anyone. More, even, because I want it more and that has to be a sign. If you saw your future husband’s face plastered everywhere, you’d have to be a fool not to feel something for him.”

Mercedes shakes her head. “The ratio of royalty-obsessed teenagers to available princes is not in your favor.” She exchanges a glance with Kurt, hoping for a dash of moderation.

Kurt nods sympathetically. Box of tiaras under his bed or not, Kurt knows it’s not going to be him. It’s just a nice fantasy that he sometimes indulges and will never, ever let himself entertain for more than a moment. He doesn’t want his favorite means of escape tainted with heartbreak when he is eventually confronted with reality after getting his heart set. He can objectively recognize gorgeousness and goodness personified without falling prey to swooning or drawing hearts over anyone’s face in public, or so he tells himself. He has managed this long, at least.

Tina groans as she sinks back into Mercedes’ plush pillows. She takes Kurt’s magazine with her. She flips the page and there are even more pictures of Prince Blaine from various public functions more recent than the beach trip, the prince always in a suit and tie, hands folded neatly in his lap. She flips back to the previous page. “When did he get so hot? Fall is the _worst_. No more abs candids until next year.”

Mercedes laughs. “Is your mind ever on anything else?”

“You know you’re going to miss the half naked paps pics! You were all thinking it.”

Rachel steals a glance at the photo spread. “He is getting more dreamy.”

The one on the beach is nice. Kurt would look longer if he were alone. If he weren’t on someone else’s bed, at a sleepover, with too many eyes on him to get away with his _totally objective_ admiration.

“Are you considering switching loyalties? You realize that leaves Prince Cooper all for me,” Mercedes teases Rachel.

“And a million other girls who aren’t in this room,” Kurt drolls.

“You already defected to Prince Wes; you just won’t admit it,” Tina says.

“I’d just like to point out that royals in other branches of the royal family, like Prince Wes, are also worthy of their attention if we want to squee over handsome princes and there’s no reason to be exclusive in crushes because _a crush is not a real relationship_ ,” Mercedes says.

Tina rolls her eyes. She draws her skull and crossbones clad knees up to her chest. “What’s the point in dreaming if you don’t dream big?”

They grew up with Prince Cooper as the obvious heartthrob – older, charming, carefree knowing he’ll be a prince forever, and happily at the center of public attention since they were old enough to care about how dreamy he is. Plenty of girls grow up socialized to want to be beloved princesses with no emphasis on the awesome power and responsibility of queens – Tina has a fantastic rant on the topic – so holding out for Prince Blaine, the one actually in line for the thrown, or even Prince Wes, fourth in line compared to Blaine’s second, isn’t necessary when picking a royal crush. Cooper’s charm makes him the most popular object of affection in the kingdom. Kurt would put money on the ratio shifting in Blaine’s favor coming soon. The youngest prince didn’t enter the public eye until recently, but around the time he hit 16 the delicate, respectful treatment the press gave him wore off and a flood of coverage came out. Now his picture is everywhere. And of course Kurt is buying what they’re selling.

“Kurt, care to weigh in?” Rachel asks.

“And none of this ‘I’m just in it for the expensive couture’ BS,” Tina adds. “Hotness matters.”

“The clothes are amazing.” He reaches for another slice of pizza. He can blame his blush on the pizza making his skin blotchy.

“Oh, come on, Kurt, it’s like sleepover tradition: you have to tell us who you think is cutest,” Rachel teases, enjoying being able to partake in sleepover tradition perhaps a bit too much. “You have _eyes_. Just because they’re all cute doesn’t mean you can’t have a favorite.”

He rationalizes his interest in Prince Blaine as mere curiosity. He’s the closest royal to Kurt’s age. Which isn’t quite true: Blaine’s cousin, Prince Wes, is also a year apart from Kurt in age, but, well, Blaine has always received so much more attention as the heir apparent. There’s more fuel for Kurt’s fascination.

“I’m impartial,” he insists. “No preference at all.”

***

Mondays are the worst. Kurt has two days to remember what it’s like to be treated like a human. To be left alone. He’d go insane without the weekend’s reprieve, but returning stings that much more. The fantasy is over.

Each day at McKinley, Karofsy makes a point of not touching him but Kurt can’t convince himself he’s safe with Karofsky towering over him, clammy breath on him, pudgy fingers pointing in his face, at every turn Kurt makes. Azimio walking behind him sneering about how gay everything is. His classes are gay. The mandatory school assembly is gay. Everything about Kurt’s appearance/personality/interests is _faggy_.

One day, Kurt will get out of McKinley, out of Lima, maybe out of the kingdom completely. Or, if he chooses to stay, then one day they will all work for him; he takes as much comfort in the thought as he can.

Kurt shakes it out on the Hummel’s front porch. Home isn’t a place where he wants the bullies at school to be able to haunt him. He’ll detox on another royal family article he picked up on the way home as a reward for making it through the day. He tries to hold out on burning through each new article that comes out and his resolve never lasts. Relying too heavy on people outside himself – people he doesn’t even know – for happiness isn’t healthy or sustainable. He’ll ditch the crutch when he needs it less. Right now he’s just glad the stories exist.

“There you are!” He hears as soon as he’s through the front door. His dad appears from around the corner looking far too chipper for Kurt’s mood. “About time. I’m not used to beating you home.”

Kurt offers a thin smile with heavy eyelids. “Hi, Dad.” The sudden, unexpected arrival comes too soon to put his “game-face” on.

His dad greets him with far more enthusiasm.  “Hey kid, sit down, I’ve got something you want to see.”  His dad steers him to the couch, bounce in his step, and plunks a laptop down of the coffee table in front of him.

“I have never seen you this excited over YouTube,” Kurt observes over his shoulder, looking for some clue in his father’s features to explain. He’s vaguely skeptical his dad is about to show him a video of a sneezing panda. His dad isn’t one to get excited about the internet. Rarely do they have any of the same interests, and Kurt doesn’t think cute baby animal videos falls under either of theirs.

“Just watch,” his dad urges. He clicks ‘play.’

_The prince – Prince Blaine – appears on-screen against the backdrop of one of the rooms in the palace. For someone photographed so much, at least lately, he appears awfully bashful in front of a camera with a soft smile, a hand at his neck, and a glance at the floor before focusing straight ahead._

Kurt checks the title of the video his dad pulled up.

**It Gets Better – HRH Prince Blaine of Westerville**

“ _Hi!_ _Thank you for paying attention to this video. My brother, Cooper, helped set this up_.” _The prince gives a small wave._

“ _Prince Cooper: titles are important, Squirt.” The older prince appears on-screen as well with a toss of his perfect hair. He nudges his younger brother and gives a bright smile as he takes a seat beside him._

_The stark contrast between Blaine’s soft rawness and Cooper’s rehearsed magnetism that has made him a media darling throughout the past decade is more obvious with them side by side. Cooper slides smoothly into a rehearsed speech. “A lot of accounts of anti-gay bullying and the effects it’s having on gay and gay-perceived teenagers have come to light recently. We both felt really affected by it. And then my brother had the idea for us to make this video._ ”

Kurt’s heart speeds up. He knows the video is likely words of encouragement and nothing personal about the prince, _he knows_ , and he tells his mind to stop racing to conclusions about why they’re giving this message, and why the video says it’s Prince Blaine’s message alone, not his and Prince Cooper’s when Cooper’s done far more talking so far. He glances down at the astronomical view count in only a few hours after being posted. Kurt’s stomach knots in anticipation. He can’t expect the future king to be gay. It’s too much. He’ll take the kind words and he absolutely will not let himself be disappointed when it ends there.

_“Prejudice is just ignorance. People who are bullies reveal their own ignorance. They don’t tell us anything about the people they harass,” Blaine says._

Kurt has never seen eyes that look so sincere.

_Prince Cooper listens quietly by his side. His glance never strays from his brother._

“ _Saying it gets better isn’t a platitude but a promise. We’re going to make it so,” Blaine continues earnestly. “We want to talk about not only that it gets better but how. Prince Cooper and I are committing ourselves working with schools to make sure students have the safe spaces and administerial support they need, and we’ll work with community centers that are combating homophobia.”_

_“And we think there’s a lot you can do as well,” Cooper adds with his upbeat 1000 kilowatt smile._

_“The first being to get help if you need it. There are hotlines and other resources linked below the video. If you want to provide help and you’re able, make a donation to a suicide prevention line.”_

_“And you can support the people in your life who come out.” Cooper tugs Blaine into a sideways hug with an arm looped over his shoulders._

Kurt holds his fist over his mouth. His breath exhales shakily over it.

_Blaine beams at his brother for a moment – his first gorgeous smile on the video with no reservation to it – before refocusing on the camera._ “ _We’ll make it better. Please be alive to let me prove it to you.”_

_Cooper stays focused on his little brother tucked under his arm. “It gets better,” Cooper echoes._

The video ends and Kurt can’t stop staring. The prince just came out in what is bound to be national news, if it hasn’t made the 5 o’clock showing already. A lot of hate is going to be directed his way, and his private life just got a lot less private; assuming Blaine had any grasp on consequences, he understood that and did it anyway.

Kurt moves to hit repeat. If he hears Blaine’s message enough, maybe it'll sink in.

“Kurt, kiddo, talk to me.”

Kurt startles at his father’s hand on his. The video pauses before Blaine’s mouth opens. His dad gets that quiet, reasoning tone when he doesn't know what else to do with his kid. The gentleness underneath the gruff exterior. Kurt looks up.

“I know you've been having a rough time. And you haven't been letting me in on how rough. It's your choice, you don't owe me anything, but maybe you owe it to yourself to let someone else in on that burden.”

Kurt nods because he has to respond but he doesn’t know how. His dad has enough to worry about, and Kurt has always been good at taking care of himself.

“It doesn’t have be me, although, Kurt, you know I’ll do anything for you.”

Kurt nods again.

Teachers have been ineffectual, the administration has their hands tied as they always say they do when it matters most, but Kurt has Prince Blaine on his side. Finally, someone is on Kurt’s side.

His dad’s hand stays where it is on top of Kurt’s. “You okay, kid?”

He exhales. “I’m going to be.”

The relief on his father’s face makes him realize for the first time how worried he has looked lately. He thought if he didn’t say anything, no one would notice.

He accepts the hug. Guilt wells even if he knows his dad will say it’s not his fault. They try to be honest with each other, but there’s so much he hasn’t said.

His dad clicks the repeat button for him.

***

Blaine’s best hope for the video is going viral. He suspects it will. Counts on it, in case his grandfather or someone on the council demands its removal, so that his message cannot be stopped.

He waits from the time he watches Cooper upload the video. Trying to be calm. Knowing he just made the history books. Waiting to see how the story goes. The video he did with Cooper, but the waiting he does alone. His mind races to all the possibilities even as he forces a calm exterior. He worries. He obsesses. He doesn’t let it show. He doesn't doubt his decision. He understands how a public life works. Discussion of his life is inevitable, but Blaine can start the conversation. 

“You’re highness?” Emma calls. She beckons him over. “Come with me, please.”

Blaine knows the story has spread to the royal court when Emma Pillsbury steers him past the line of startled expressions and into her office where Cooper and a long-limbed blonde woman he doesn’t know are waiting.

Emma’s nervous fingers fix the line of her clothes once the door is shut and three pairs of eyes are trained on her.

“Your highness, I’d like you to meet the woman who will handle public communications for this incident, Sue Sylvester. She will do damage control and circulate follow up news stories for us. Sue has her hands in publications across the kingdom, and her opinions sections in the evening news are – heaven help us – highly rated. We need her to help send the message we want.”

“All this and cheerleading too,” Sue says with a sardonic smile. She rises to tower over Blaine and take his hand in a grip that doesn’t hide its strength. “Pleasure’s all mine, your highness, but from now on, no matter what hair-brained help-the-world scheme you have, you want me in on it. I don’t like being rushed in last minute to avoid the _conspiracy against the crown_ this little meeting will be once the king catches wind.”

It suddenly seems more real that his potentially pissed off grandfather is also running the country. Blaine has been warned a million times against getting into a messy public relations situation like this: there are no alternatives to being polite and courteous, complaining even in private is discouraged, and causing a national scene is right out.

“Excellent point, Sue.” Emma directs her next comment to Blaine as she gestures for him to sit alongside Cooper. “It is in my professional best interest to know what you’re up to, your highness,” Emma chastises mildly. “We could have saved ourselves from scrambling like this if you’d given me advanced warning. We would’ve had a plan in place. Despite a few questionable actions over the years to the contrary, I would like to avoid making an enemy of our entire government that will lead to only being able to find work in tabloids when I’m let go, so we need to create a plan now and we need that plan to look like it’s coming entirely from Sue.”

Blaine nods wordlessly. Blaine never perfected the art of maintaining calm in the face of disapproval. He’s even worse than Wes when it comes to loathing feeling like a disappointment. Maybe it’s intentionally instilled in those in line for the throne, because his mother is the same way. Blaine really hopes his paralyzing fear of being a screw up is under control by the time he’s king.

Cooper doesn’t have the same fault. He is as at ease as ever. “I’ll arrange an interview where I can speak on behalf of the royal family. That should distract Gramps enough to ensure your job security: he’ll need you too badly to clean up my mess to wonder about your connection to Blaine’s.”

The corner of Emma’s lip twitches at Cooper’s familiar antics before she schools her features into something more appropriately serious. “Your grandfather will not be pleased to have you speaking on your family’s behalf without permission.”

“What are they going to do, not offer me the throne I’m not in line for? You’re looking at a prince who’s never going to be responsible for anything. You know the rules are never going to be the same for me as they are for Blaine. I can do what I want.”

Blaine wonders occasionally if Cooper ever gets jealous that his much-younger brother will be king in the same way that Blaine gets jealous of how Cooper never seems to worry. If anything, Cooper delights in the lack of responsibility.Like it was his choice for his father to marry into this crazy life that makes their every move up for public scrutiny, and royal family drama all suits his whims.

“Pick a journalist who is easy to charm,” Emma cautions.

Cooper smirks at directions that will be easy for him to follow.

“As for our relationship with Sue, in exchange for unprecedented access we hold some sway in the stories being told,” Emma explains. “Okay, Sue, here's what I want the story to be: he's young. He's so very, very young. You know how youth can be about social media. He got caught up in a trend. His family would prefer he stick to traditional media outlets, when he's older, but no one is upset. He's not defying anyone. Call him naive. Repeatedly. Teenagers often don’t understand consequences.”

“You're insulting me on purpose?” Blaine looks between the two women, Sue still towering and Emma seated primly behind her desk. This can't be a normal working relationship. It's like baby Bambi negotiating with the forest fire by offering it kindling in exchange for not spreading.

Sue jots notes into a yellow spiral pad. “Shall I avoid making his video political?”

“No,” Blaine says.

“Yes,” Emma says at the same time. “Nothing so controversial or divisive. He’s participating in youth culture, and that’s as far as the story goes. That’ll be more fun for you to write, won’t it? You hate social media platforms that allow a message to come from anyone but you.”

Blaine raises a hand in protest. “I want to help people. Not everything I do is for attention.”

A small smile creeps onto Emma’s face. “The earnestness you should keep. That will serve him well in the future.”

Blaine keeps his hand up. “Don’t I get a say?”

Sue Sylvester swivels to face him. “You, Young Prince Valiantly-Naive, made the mistake of cutting me out of the process. Now I have to work fast to cover your not-insignificant butt. My objectivity is more valuable than gold. I will not have it questioned by painting a rosier picture than the general population can stomach. Being young and stupid you can grow out of. Now, technically, I’m not supposed to talk to you, given you’re unpredictable and….” She grimaces. “So, _so_ young. Instead of letting you insert your foot into your mouth so deep you lose that pesky virginal gag reflex, your ginger babysitter is going to relay what she wants me to hear, and if it doesn’t come from her mouth, it doesn’t count.”

"I'm not a child; I'm 16!"

Even Cooper laughs, although Cooper and Emma have the propriety to hide their laughs behind their hands. 

Blaine folds his arms over his chest in a huff, which doesn’t help his argument. “We didn’t go through this to have it undone by saying I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Blaine is reminded of the warnings he received as a child. _Anything can become a story. Always give a story you want to be told._ At the time his mother meant that he should mind his manners and stay out of the news completely, but he most paid attention to the spirit of the advice. He knows what story he wants to tell, and it isn’t Emma or Sue’s.

Sue lowers her pen. She towers even more frightfully as she directs her full attention to Blaine.

“Do you know what people aren’t threatened by? Children. Who gets forgiven for being impetuous? Who do we feel sympathy for as long as they’re appropriately polite and quiet and agree to follow the rules when they’re not too excitable and short sighted to forget? Who can get away with sunshiny optimism and acting like they can change the world with grand gestures? The tiny, doe-eyed packaging is a gift. Accept it as such. I won’t make you a child forever – even I don’t have that kind of power – but while you teeter on the line between child and tiny man, it’ll behoove you to let me push you back to child in everyone’s mind as long as I can.”

Blaine turns to Cooper for reassurance. Cooper flashes a rehearsed smile too bright for Blaine to believe automatically.

“Sue has gotten me out of plenty of trouble before by branding me the way she has, Squirt. This’ll buy you a few years where everything you do is adorable, win or fail.”

“Yes, adorable.” Sue’s voice drips with sarcasm and disdain. “Another teenager posting videos on the internet they end up regretting. A true classic.”

Blaine prickles. “I’m pleased with my decision. You wouldn’t be this worked up over something that doesn’t matter.”

Sue levels a well-practiced look of disdain. “Curly ‘Mo, you clearly have no idea how news works.”

Blaine screws his courage to pipe up again, with more sass than his mother would deem prudent, “Is minimizing this story really the course of action you want to take? That’s not what you’re going to do on your resume.”

“Don’t be difficult, Blainers,” Cooper cuts in.

“I chose not to use traditional media for a reason. I want to be able to speak for myself.” He can already feel the grasp he though he had slipping away.

“I liked your little video. A lot of people have seen it. That’s some help.” Cooper nudges at him. Usually it would earn him a smile. The corner of Blaine’s lip twitches out of habit but that’s it.

“We didn’t want – ”

“You don’t control the story now that it’s out there. Let Sue do what she can,” Emma presses.

Blaine is about to huff even louder when Sue silences them all by booming, “Settle your royal tight-ass down. I don’t risk conspiracy charges for just anyone.”

Blaine grows solemn. “Thank you.”

“I’m talking about one Sue Sylvester. I’ve got a career to make.” She softens for a flicker of a second. “I’m placing my long-term bets on you. I can’t use you if you’re nothing but a fool. Fools give me 15 minutes to work with an then they’re used up and the news cycle moves on. You’ve got a lifelong career to milk. Do you believe that I’m going to work in my own best interest?”

“Yes.”

“Trust me that far.”

Blaine feels oddly reassured. He nods in agreement. “Let’s talk about how to work a positive message into your hard-hitting news story.”

Sue smirks. “I’ll say you mean well.”

***

In the days following, Kurt roots himself in front of his computer for news. A “future queen” meme of Blaine’s most effeminate moments caught on camera is making its rounds on the internet and each new addition fits somewhere between loving and vicious depending on the source. Twitter argues over whether he's too young to know his own mind or old enough that he's been lying by omission for years. Tumblr is a disaster, but that’s not new.

Kurt follows a link on a celebrity news site that reads _CLICK link to see prince cozy up to male companion at trendy nightspot!!!_ and snorts at the shot of Prince Cooper in a sports bar with a friend. Whoever created that headline must be enjoying the hit count. Kurt clicks on every useless article, telling himself it’s only out of well-wishing for his favorite royal. Speculation about Blaine’s love life fills the news not already focused on the coming out story and the royal family’s lack of an official public statement.

Desperate for something resembling journalistic integrity, Kurt turns to TV news. Tina is hung up on her disappointment in realizing her hipster-like crush on Blaine from before everyone else realized he was crushworthy isn’t going to pay off, and Mercedes is disinterested in royal gossip, but Rachel invites herself over to watch with him and it seems like an offer of friendship.

“My dads are besides themselves at the news," Rachel informs him upon arrival. "Can you imagine what it'll be like in 20, 40 years? It's not something I can picture often besides my inevitable lifetime achievement award for work in the theatre, but it'll have to get better. The royal family can't just act like it doesn't matter now. They can't pretend it's fine when the future king says it's not.” 

Kurt never thought he’d see the day he’d tentatively forge a friendship with Rachel for the sake of company, but here they are set up on the Hummels’ couch. Kurt’s dad doesn’t say a word about Kurt’s obsessive watching eating into his sports time or the obscene supply of popcorn and candy they go trough as they watch.

Burt does, however, sneak into the candy stash while checking in on the teenagers pressed side by side under the trance of the 24-hour news cycle.

_A stiff reporter looks dead-on into the camera. “The royal family has not given any more comments on Prince Blaine’s coming out at this time_.”

Rachel clicks past. The royal family’s silence so far is the opposite of news. The story repeats itself from station to station and newsstand to newsstand – that the royal family declines to comment further – although speculation varies wildly on what they’re not saying.

“ _In his video blog, Prince Blaine reassured struggling gay teenage boys across the kingdom that they can now dream of one day marrying a prince_.”

Kurt rolls his eyes. He expects the teasing about his crush to start anew, but Rachel is right there with him.

“Blaine promised change, not just the opportunity of one lucky guy to put a ring on it. Trivializing the story makes a better sound-bite, but it hardly represents the truth,” she huffs.

Kurt steals a glance at her. Everything sounds like a rehearsed pronouncement with her, but she pays no mind to her audience at the moment, preoccupied with flipping through the channels instead. He doesn’t think she’s trying to win him over by saying the right thing.

_The next buttoned-up reporter asks, “But is he actually gay?”_

_Her coworker side eyes her on Kurt’s behalf. “We just played the video.”_

_“He doesn’t say it. He never said he’s gay. Prince Cooper could have been speaking generally about supporting gay kids. All other news medias are jumping to conclusions so they can spin the story their way. It’s a sensationalistic ploy that promotes speculation over hard-hitting news! Once the royal family realizes what’s being construed, they’ll correct it.”_

Rachel changes the channel when the rant seems likely to continue. Kurt’s breath catches each time he’s sees Blaine’s face. Rachel smiles knowingly at his “passing” interest in the royal family.

“That picture of him is from a year ago. You’d think a new organization would be up-to-date,” Kurt scoffs to cover his interest. “He looks so young there. Have they not seen him recently?”

“ _This is, of course, not the first time the kingdom’s royal family has forced social change. Well before anti-miscegenation laws were overridden in most of the American Union, His Royal Majesty King Devon caused quite a stir by announcing his engagement to Queen Felicia_.”

Rachel clicks past as the newscasters continue on about the older members of the royal family – nothing new about that news either. Kurt groans when Rachel’s channel flipping lands them on a pundit’s talk show.

“ _I’m just saying it’s a little suspicious that the royal family is always on trend, and have been ever since they did away with arranged marriages. First they marry in the queen consort right when desegregation became a thing, then they throw in an ambiguously ethnic guy who already has a kid when blended families are all the rage, and now the future king’s supposed to be gay? It reeks of politics_.”

_His coworker wore the same unimpressed look as Kurt. “Wouldn’t it have been more on-point if the queen were black instead of Asian?”_

_“They’re planning all of this, mark my words! Look how the monarchy has changed in a matter of –”_

Kurt flings a piece of popcorn at the TV and then guiltily retrieves it with a backwards glance to where his father had been watching.

_A stodgy older woman in pearls sighs at the camera. “The process is simple. As the king’s eldest child, his mother is the crown princess. As her only child, Prince Blaine is next in line. Gay or not, there’s no way for any other royal to jump the line of succession.”_

_Her coworker  - the cause of the older woman’s sigh – butts in. “But his brother, Prince Cooper, is nearly 10 years his senior, and quite the popular subject.”_

_The older woman looks like she’s resisting rolling her eyes at her interviewer. “We went through this when Prince Cooper was added to the royal family: he’s not even in the line of succession. He’s royal by his father’s marriage, not by birth. He’s not going to be added to the line of succession just because Prince Blaine may never have children, and definitely not just because he’s ‘cute’. Succession is not a popularity contest.”_

_“But if the laws were amended…”_

Rachel moves to change the channel but Kurt stops her with a hand on her arm to hear the answer.

_“It’s unlikely any law with disrupt the current line of succession. Whatever the royal family’s opinion on Prince Blaine’s coming out, they’re unlikely to let the council change the rules on who among them is fit to rule.”_

Kurt hangs on her every word. He motions for Rachel to hush even though she hasn’t said a word.

_“Prince Blaine may face public pressure to abdicate the throne, but he likely has decades in which to rely on society becoming more accepting of homosexuality and thus accepting of his eventual rule. If Prince Blaine outlives his grandfather and his mother, he will be king. Any legitimate children of Prince Blaine’s – potentially a logistical nightmare with surrogacy or adoption factored in, but far enough in the future that the council could help make provisions if so inclined – would be next in line. If he has no children, the line passes first to his mother’s sister should she still be alive at that point, followed by Prince Blaine’s cousin, Prince Wes, and so on to any descendants of Prince Wes. Once again, as adopted step-child to the crown princess with no royal blood of his own, Prince Cooper is not in the line of succession at all.”_

_The interviewer offers a strange fake smile as she refocuses straight ahead on the camera. “You heard it here first: I hate to break the hearts of several of our teenage viewers, but Prince Cooper will remain a prince and only a prince for the rest of his days. Prince Wes, however, just might have a chance!”_

Kurt releases his hold on the remote back to Rachel. “Wow.”

Now he can fret on a worry he didn't know he had.

“It’s just sensationalism. The expert, whoever she was, said so.” For once Rachel doesn’t sound 100% certain.

Kurt wonders how much Blaine thought about the consequences before declaring it gets better.

Kurt forces worry about wild speculation away until the next topic begins and it can start again.

“ _One possible outcome, given the royal family’s commitment to honoring royal members’ choice to marry for personal rather than political reasons, is that the council will be pressured to change the laws to allow Prince Blaine to marry a man if he so chooses. I predict a formal proposal submitted to the council within the next year.”_

Kurt leans into the hand covering his mouth. He scoots to the edge of the couch and watches without censoring how invested he is.

_“A change to the laws, while intended for the prince, will likely allow all same-sex couples the right as well. Given Prince Blaine’s young age, unconfirmed word from the council is they are confident they have plenty of time to deliberate before the matter becomes pressing_.”

“Pressing for him,” Rachel mutters at the TV. Her dads have been together for 25 years. She continues searching for something other than wild speculation.

“ _The prince promised change for other gay teens, but keep in mind that as second in line he’s unlikely to become king for another thirty years_.”

“ _Some criticism has been raised stating that the prince’s announcement is a way to force his grandfather, The King, and the council’s hand for a pet political project.”_

_“At 16 years old, the young prince simply can’t know or prove that he’s gay_.”

“ _The precedent has been set. Now we just need Prince Blaine’s own future prince_.”

Rachel turns off the TV. “That was decidedly less factual than I envisioned.” She turns to face Kurt. “I bet this is doing wonders for your fantasy life, though.”

“Please don’t imply I have fantasies.” He replies stiffly.

“You don’t have to pretend you’re above a little daydreaming when a handsome prince is suddenly available! I saw how you got when they talked about him getting married.”

Kurt’s eyes slide judgmentally over her. “Daydreams aren’t why this matters to me.”

“Of course not, but you can enjoy them anyway. Enjoy the perks. Blaine is a perk!”

Kurt edges away from her on the couch. Rachel picks up on his mood and drops the subject. Mostly.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. We can just let it lie.” She drops her voice. “I’ll wait until your dad is not around if that helps.” As if that’s why Kurt isn’t comfortable.

Kurt expects the silence to be followed by Rachel excusing herself to go home. Instead, she tries again, as bright and loud and determined as ever.

“I have two gay dads, you know,” she begins like Kurt hasn’t heard about them a million times before. “And they’re very happy, and they have been for a very long time, ever since they found each other, and then they had me via surrogate to make their lives complete, but for you to have a chance at the same you have to believe it’s possible!”

Rachel is like his dangerously optimistic inner voice saying at least now he has a chance. Kurt shuts her down.

“Slow your crazy. I know I’m the only gay guy we know, but I am nowhere near the only single gay guy in the whole kingdom.”

“It would be so cute! You act like you’re royalty, and I bet you don’t think we notice that you’re playing pretend, but you love it. You _would_ love it. We’ll get you ready – I still have that _Princess Material_ article somewhere – we can adapt it!”

Kurt’s lip quirks in bemusement. “Is this payback for the scary clown hooker makeover?”

“You love this stuff! Put on one of those tiaras you pretend the rest of us don’t know about and tell me what you’d decree.”

They’re too old for such games, but he rarely had playmates when make-believe was age appropriate. He suspects the same from her. Which is how they end up with the tiaras from under Kurt’s bed perched on coiffed hair and taking turns decreeing personal revenge against their bullies (including but not limited to exile, or at least flunking out of high school), banning acid wash, and mandating attendance whenever they want to perform for an adoring crowd.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Kurt scolds after their giggle fit at their increasingly elaborate plans, a little embarrassed but mostly delighted at their fun. “I just want what’s best for him.”

Rachel readjusts her borrowed tiara. She flashes her most regal smile. “And I’ll be hoping that’s you.”

***

Wes leaving the throne room when he’s about to enter startles Blaine, but logically it shouldn’t. The throne room is reserved for official business, and his grandfather loves decorum. Blaine has been summoned before, but usually for something Cooper did. He waits days to summon Blaine this time. Letting Blaine stew in his anticipation of what’s to come, no doubt. Blaine’s overwhelming need for approval is hardly a secret within their family. Even the illusion of disapproval is punishment enough.

Wes squeezes his arm as they pass.

  1. Right.



The king shaves his head and had done so long before losing his hair in what Blaine assumes was a preemptive strike to preserve his image as tough rather than old and frail, and as a child curled up in his lap Blaine used to ask him if the crown made his head cold. The king also dotes on his wife and daughters and keeps inside his breast pocket a photo of pre-teen Cooper holding toddler Wes in one arm and newborn Blaine in the other. Blaine wonders if he should expect the cold king or the one with a soft heart.

“I can get him to follow every rule except the ones about you.” King Devon points at the door closing behind Blaine in exasperation.

Whatever just happened with Wes, Blaine feels cheered by the implication of Wes choosing him over pleasing their grandfather.

"I had the sense to have daughters. No one warned me about grandsons." The king sighs heavily and Blaine can guess where he and his mom get their dramatics from. “I expected as much from Cooper. He came at just the right age between frightenable child and insolent teenager that I can’t convince him to think of me as anything but the old fool who will give him candy if he promises to sit still. Wes I can scare properly, as is a king’s right. Bossy little perfectionist was third in line for a job those traits are perfect for before you came along, and he has spent his whole life knowing his distance from the throne will only grow over time because of you; any fool would give up allegiance to you for a shot at this.” The king gestures to his throne.

If Cooper and Wes didn’t let themselves be intimidated by upsetting the head of their entire kingdom, than Blaine won’t either. He brings himself up to his full height. “Your majesty, as you know, I decided to publicly –”

“You’re excused. I know what I need.”

“Sir?”

“You are the last person I’ve summoned on the matter.It turns out you have the whole palace wrapped around your finger. Every action is good, every word is true. You couldn’t orchestrate a better test of their fidelity. Newscasters are clambering to offer a job that’s not in their right to give, and in response your kin extol your virtues.”

Before Blaine can finish his sigh of relief, he’s cut of with a warning look.

“Even when you’ve been a fool. Don’t make the mistake of being a fool twice. When you speak, it's with my permission. When people see you, it's because I want them to. When you become a national spectacle, it's because I have deemed that it will serve our interests,” he warns sternly. “And if you find a boy, and you fall in love, and I see how in love you are, I will bless your marriage and put it into law that you and anyone else of age may marry the person of their choosing, with all the rights that entails.”

Blaine’s smile wobbles with unexpected gratitude. He bows and leaves.

***

**_PRINCE COOPER BREAKS ROYAL SILENCE ON GAY HEIR_ **

_By April Rhodes for Entertainment Magazine_

_He’s been described as the kingdom’s own most overexposed royal - although possibly the sheer volume of interviews Prince Cooper (PC) gives is due to his outsider status within the royal family that seems to exempt him from traditional gag orders on talking to the press. Very little is off-limits for the chatty 26 year old, who sat down for a drink with Entertainment Magazine staff writer April Rhodes (AR) to discuss the latest going ons in the royal family, namely Prince Blaine’s recent viral video in which he admitted he’s gay._

**_AR: What does your brother’s coming out mean for the royal family? Give us the deets._ **

_PC: Hopefully that we’re one step closer to marriage equality._

**_AR: We've heard very little from your brother since he came out._ **

_PC: (Laughs) I don't think you heard much from him before he came out, did you? You’ll hear from him again. He’ll be far more in the public eye now than he’s been in the past, and at least partly by his own choosing._

**_AR: What should we expect for your newly-launched anti-bullying crusade?_ **

_PC: (Prince) Blaine and I are organizing some speaking engagements that’ll be announced officially once logistics are finalized: some community centers, some high schools. He’s eager to get as involved as possible. Since he’s so young, however, I’ll be acting on his behalf, as will (Prince) Wes. Blaine needs to concentrate on his own education._

**_AR: You've been very involved, what with first with filming the video and now with campaign management._ **

_PC: He's still a kid. It's easy to forget because he likes to pretend he's not, but I said I'd support him and I take that promise seriously._

**_AR: Whose idea was it to do the now-famous video?_ **

_PC: His. Completely his. But it’s a great idea so I helped! Mostly I listened while he worked out what he wanted to say._

**_AR: How long have you known he’s gay?_ **

_PC: Since he was ... no, you know, there's a difference between me guessing and the two of us actually having a conversation about it, and me guessing isn't what counts._ _(Prince) Blaine's not a secret keeper. It's not hard to know what's on his mind.  I figured as long as I didn't know, he really didn't either, because he’d tell me as soon as he was ready. So I waited for him to come to me, which wasn't much before we made the video._

**_AR:_ ** **_Did the rest of the royal family know before the video went viral?_ **

_PC: Yes._

**_AR:_ ** **_I think that’s the shortest answer you’ve given yet!_ **

_PC: It’s a yes/no question. I actually gave you the longer of the two options by a whole letter!_

**_AR:_ ** **_Would you care to elaborate? You said there wasn’t much time between when you found out and when the rest of the kingdom did. Can we all presume the same for the rest of the royal family?_ **

_PC: That’s wandering out of stories that are mine to tell. Everything I’ve already told you (Prince) Blaine knew I would touch on and is a story I’m a part of. I wasn’t there for anything else._

**_AR:_ ** **_Our initial request was an interview with Prince Blaine, which was declined by the royal family. Why were you permitted to give an interview when he wasn’t?_ **

_PC: Like I said, he’s a kid. He’s still in school. It’s great that he wants to be involved in charity work and doing publicity for it, but his first priority right now has to be education. He’s going to have a lot of responsibility as he gets older but that doesn’t mean he’ll be left to do it alone._

“Do you think you're taking this obsession a little far?" Mercedes asks over dinner at Breadstix, interrupting Kurt’s excited chatter about the latest _Entertainment Magazine_ he picked up on the way. “He's not a real person.”

“He’s not a collective figment of our imaginations,” Kurt says with more bite than necessary. He tends to get a little defensive of the youngest prince. Blind admiration does that to people. _Obsession_ does that to people.

Mercedes swirls her straw with friendly judgment. “You know what I mean. You don't know him. Reading about someone in a magazine doesn't mean you know him. You know a construction of him, an image that's put out there. You see the best of him that they want you to see. That part's not real. You don't want to be one of those crazies who's convinced a celebrity is their soulmate.”

“I don't think that.” He shifts guiltily. It's just a fantasy. A harmless fantasy that won't have any real life consequences other than providing him comfort. He's not going to forget that it's just a daydream and start stalking Blaine until he can prove what he knows can’t be true. He doesn’t have to be Blaine’s anything to care deeply about him.

His investment in Blaine feels personal even if they never will meet. Blaine impacted his life without knowing it. Blaine coming out, grinning, with the support of his brother, hit like a quadruple shot of espresso on an empty stomach. Suddenly there's this surge of excitement, of hope, that overwhelms his worn out system. It makes him realize how lifeless he has been feeling, just suffering through and biding time.

If Blaine could be brave, then so could he. It becomes his mantra. He has hard days. McKinley’s school administration is a nightmare and his classmates are terrors but he has hope that his misery won’t be permanent. He also has his strange budding friendship with Rachel built on over active imaginations that wasn’t there before – wouldn’t be there if she hadn’t noticed how badly he needed her friendship. Rachel even convinces Kurt to join her in writing a fan letter to Blaine after school one day that Kurt insists on framing as a thank you note.

Jealousy, if nothing else, makes Mercedes take notice that their own friendship needs work, hence their “date night” at Breadstix.

“Rachel thinks you’re lonely,” Mercedes observes. He tips her head as if she could read loneliness from his expression.

Kurt lets the silence answer for him.

“And this guy you’re obsessed with…” Mercedes cuts herself off. "I don't want to hear about the royal family. I want to hear about you."

"We're trying to have _fun_ , Mercedes." Being Kurt isn't always fun. Or tolerable. Rachel gets that. Anyone who spends their free time in costumes and on stage should get that.

Kurt stares at Breadstix’s ceiling to regain his slip in composure. He’s well aware that his obsession is no longer subtle. It couldn’t be after Blaine gave him comfort when he needed it so badly. He holds onto the feeling for as long as he can. Hard days will just be hard if he can’t force cheer into his life by clinging to hope for Blaine and fantasies of some good future for himself.

“We’re friends, right?” Mercedes voice is soft for their surroundings.

“Of course we’re friends,” he replies just as soft. Kurt takes Mercedes’ hand across the table. His smile crinkles his eyes but they don’t light up.

"I worry about putting all your hope in someone you don't even know. What happens when he disappoints you? Who are you going to count on then?" 

"My best friends?" he supplies drolly.

“I mean, yes, ideally. We don’t mean to leave you out of girl things. I promise we won’t any more. We’re all one-of-a-kind kind of people and we’re here for you.” Mercedes lets the sentiment land for a moment, squeezes his hand again, and then says, "But I mean you. Count on you. One day the magazines are going to run out, or you won’t feel the same way about him, and your happiness should come from somewhere you can count on. Think he's dreamy all you want, but don't forget to be your own Prince Charming." 

Kurt squeezes back.

He ponders her advice and what, if anything, he’d want his prince charming to do about confronting Karofsky.

***

News of King Devon’s agreement with Blaine travels, of course. The court is full of gossips willing to lose their jobs over a story ripped from the script of a fairytale of old where heroes have to prove themselves to get what they want. 

It has never been harder for Blaine to sneak around.

"We all got strict orders to keep this stuff away from you, ya know,” Captain Beiste warns over Blaine’s shoulder as he speed reads a news article. The ban on Blaine’s contact with the press or even so much as a webpage with comments enabled remains in place.

Blaine scoots closer to the computer screen. "Scroll, please."

She obliges and moves the page down without taking her eyes off the gate. Captain Beiste lets him access on her computer with the promise that he keep his hands to himself. 

"You could let me do that myself, you know. I won't type a thing. I won't leave this page." 

"I could get in enough trouble for this. I can't let you loose on the interwebs after you caused more trouble than a pig in a pageant." 

"I feel so disconnected. No one my age has business at the palace. It'd be so convenient if I could just send a search party throughout all the land like they did in old stories in provincial places where they had fewer people. It probably only took a matter of days. In the meantime I haven't even been outside."

"What do you call this?" Captain Beiste gestures to the open air around them. 

"Confinement with a view." Blaine slouches against the counter. “We're at a gate: shouldn't there be people coming and going?”

Every day he shows up he assumes it must be a slow day. Nothing is happening. He has a nice promise for his future but it’s so far away. He wants to be able to do something, not just sit and wait for the man of his dreams to show up.

“Not every day can be a day where you go to a ball, pumpkin.”

Blaine is not in the mood for reason. His pout holds. "Even the people who come here don't want to talk to me." 

"And what am I?" 

Blaine’s features soften with fondness. "You're wonderful, Captain Beiste. I love our friendship. But my future isn't going to just show up at the gates. I could help so many people. If my grandfather is true to his word, we're talking sweeping, nationwide change. How am I supposed to make that happen if I can't find him? There has to be someone out there for me, and it’s never going to happen if I can’t leave.”

“Not to mention you gotta find a good one you can tolerate.”

“I aim much higher than tolerate. I have to. I have to find true love.” Blaine stares dreamily out the window of the observation booth. Finding the love of his life was already a pet fantasy for him before it meant sweeping advancement toward equal rights for hundreds of thousands of his people. Blaine very much wants to be loved as unconditionally as in the books from his childhood. “Can't you just picture it? We're going to have the most amazing wedding. Something really romantic.” 

Beiste watches him fondly. “You're so far ahead of yourself you might as well be time traveling.”

Blaine’s lower lip slides into a pout. He’s not making any progress waiting at the gate. “Captain Bieste? If I were to leave…”

“Whoa now! I’m under strict orders. You’re no allowed any closer to the gate. I’ll pick you up and carry you back here myself if I have to. There’s no need for you to get anything out there that someone can’t bring you.”

“I can’t mail order a husband!”

“There’s plenty of time for that when you’re older.”

Blaine wonders if that line was always irritating, or just ever since Sue Sylvester got ahold of it. He crosses his arms. He’s been shoved squarely back from eligible young bachelor into precocious child. “Cooper got to –”

“Cooper ain’t the heir, and he’s never had this much interest in every move he makes.”

“I’ll just go then. Back to the _palace_ ,” Blaine amends at her disapproving looks. He pushes away from the desk.

“Chin up, your highness.”

He stops himself from storming out like the petulant child everyone thinks he is and turns to add, “Thank you for letting me borrow the news.”

He returns toward the palace and gives up on going past the entrance. Blaine drops his head back against the wall in frustration. His plan for action has to accommodate far more waiting than originally anticipated. He doesn't have clearance to make good on his promises, and 18 seems so far away. Not that he'll get to make his own choices then either, but he'll have some freedom. Wes at least has permission to leave grounds when accompanied by a security detail.

Blaine steals a longing glance back at the gate. He’s on a very short leash now.

Cooper and Wes find him still slumped against the palace entrance. Cooper looks like he's up to something, as usual, and Wes looks like he might be ill. 

"Teen angst, or serious issue?" Cooper teases as he drops to crouch in front of Blaine.

“I promised I’d do something.” Blaine sighs heavily. Manners persist, forcing him to add, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Thank you for everything." 

"You're welcome for everything. Including what Wes is about to say." Cooper nudges Wes’ shin. 

Wes swats Cooper’s prodding away. “I’ve been thinking about what our most effective next step will be. After all, you need someone to help you fulfill all your promises and who can keep Cooper in line and on script."

"Hey now." Cooper grumbles with the same fondness in his voice as Wes.

“Naturally I nominated myself.” Wes holds out a set of car keys with an unsteady smile that says he’s well-aware of how much trouble he could get into. “I think it’s time you learned how to drive. It might take several days of loops around the palace first, but our family should see the value of your lessons taking place on a road with other drivers. It’s the sensible course of action. And if we get lost or have to stop for gas, well, that’s perfectly understandable.”

“I think I’ve given Wes a taste for misbehavior. I’m so proud.”

Wes looks a little proud as well.

Blaine looks between their expectant smiles. “I don’t get it.”

“This is how we get you into the outside world. It’ll be just you, me, and a security detail handpicked for their discretion. We can’t do anything formal, but we can get you outside of those gates. That’s the first step.”

Blaine hesitates. His grandfather warned against causing another scene, and his itch to get out from behind palace walls isn’t strong enough to jeopardize his tentative goodwill.

“I have more steps after than, but Cooper asked that I not drown you in details. I can assure you, however, that they’re very good. And they lead to meeting cute, age appropriate boys you can see a future with.”

“Come on, Squirt. You know your grandfather will let you marry the man of your dreams as soon as you find him. I heard him say as much.”

“And marriage equality comes to everyone else as soon as they know for certain he’s a he,” Blaine confirms, slowly catching up to why the risk might be worth it.

Wes extends a hand. “Sounds like we have a plan then: let’s go find your future prince.”


End file.
